I wanted to bring the R&B flavor and other Westernized sounds to my music, because that's the type of music I grew up listening to.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was in about in the 8th grade when I started recording R&B, so much of what was on was the Motown sound, and The Beatles had pretty much come over and taken America by storm.
My music is a direct reflection of the eclectic person I am. I don't like to be stuck in an R&B box.
I've never really been a traditional country kind of guy. I wanted my music to sound more like the end of the '90s and to have the kind of great music, pop or whatever, that radio will embrace.
We all had a desire and appreciation for such a wide range of music.
I wanted to explore the connections between different kinds of music.
I grew up listening to a lot of different types of music, and R&B in particular was something that I loved - Aaliyah, Usher, Alicia Keys, TLC.
I have a very varied taste in music. Everything from rap to classical to Latino to Rat Pack to jazz.
I wanted to keep pushing the musical ideas I had about jazz, music from Africa and the Caribbean.
It was very interesting in my world, because I grew up as a fan and I did not know that there was a thing called R&B, pop, country, classical - I just knew that I loved music.
I was into playing American music, especially the blues.